To Know The Unknown
by chikorita18
Summary: It's done, it's done, it's DONE!!! Oh, yeah, summary... Ash and friends are transported to a world where none of the friends exist in the same place. Can they find their ways back to one another?
1. Part 1

To Know The Unknown - Part 1  
Based on the song from "Spell of the Unown"  
  
Author: Chikorita_18  
Category: General/AAML (?)  
Rating: 'G'  
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"Hey, Ash, hurry up!" Misty called excitedly. "Look at this!"  
Ash broke off his argument with Brock to jog up beside her. "Whoa..." he said as he took in the scenery. "That's Greenfield!"  
"That's what I was thinking. Gee, I wonder how Molly's doing?"  
Ash held his head high, proud that he, for once, knew something before his friends. "My mom told me that they found Molly's mother."  
Misty nodded. "So now Molly's happy again."  
"And the Unown have no reason to leave their underground chamber." Ash said.  
Misty nodded, noticing the look of combined anger and fear in Ash's eyes that had been present ever since their encounter with the Unown two years before. He'd never truly recovered from the events of that night, and she could see it in his eyes whenever he was anywhere near his mother. There was something between he and his mother that she didn't think that she would ever understand, not having a mother around herself.   
The battle with the Unown had been a long one, that was for sure. Upon arriving in Greenfield the first time, they had been caught up in the excitement when Professor Spencer Hale, a noted Pokémon researcher, had disappeared. No one knew how, and Professor Oak, Ash's friend and mentor, had travelled to Greenfield to help investigate. Delia, Ash's mother, had come along, since she'd known Professor Hale for years and was worried about his young daughter, Molly. But Molly had been trapped in her father's mansion by the Unown, who had the ability to read thoughts and dreams and alter reality with them. They had also created Entei, one of the Legendary Dogs of Johto, which Molly believed to be her father. Many people tried to save her, but Molly had believed that she was happy with her 'father'. But soon, she wanted a mother, and Entei mistakenly believed that Delia was that mother and had kidnapped her. Ash, accompanied by Misty and Brock, had rushed to the tower to save her.  
Ash couldn't remember much of the battle that ensued, because he had been acting in rage and things had happened too fast for him to get a grasp on them. He couldn't remember much of any of his big battles, though. Like the time he had been the 'Chosen One' in an old prophecy...and he occasionally saw two Pokémon in his dreams, one small, cat-like, and bouncing on a huge pink bubble, one with these forbidding violet eyes that made Ash cower away...  
"Yo, earth to Ash!" Brock called. "We might want to head out there now, don't you think? At least we can get to the Pokémon Center before night falls."  
Ash kept his eyes low as he followed his friends to down the road.  
"Pikapi!" Pikachu suddenly cried.   
Ash snapped his head up and felt the ground tumble out from underneath him. A second later, he crashed painfully to the ground. Misty was lying not too far from him, but instead of grumbling and complaining about who was bound to show up in about two seconds, she lay totally still. "Misty, are you okay?" he called to her.  
No response.  
"Brock, can you see if Misty's okay?" he asked.  
Brock crawled over and shook her. "Ash, I think she's unconscious," he said. "She's not moving at all, but she's breathing."  
Harsh female laughter came from the top of the pit. "Well, James, you actually succeeded at this one. We knocked the girl out!"  
Jessie and James, Ash's nemeses, appeared at the top of the pit. "Now we can move on to phase two!" James said, calling out his Victreebel. "Victreebel, grab that girl!"  
Victreebel's vines lashed out and wrapped around Misty's lifeless form. It hauled her up to Jessie and James.  
"Misty!" Ash and Brock cried at the same time. Ash desperately tried to clamber up the side of the pit, only to fall back. "Let her go!" he demanded in a tone that sent chills down Brock's back.   
Jessie raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, you're dreaming, twerp," she said cruelly. "If you want her, you'll have to find us." They disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
Ash slammed a fist into the dirt wall. "Bulbasaur, Chikorita, help me and Brock out of here!" he called, tossing their PokéBalls. He didn't even wait to call them back before he took off running.  
"Ash!" Brock called, running after him. "Ash, wait!"   
Ash fought against Brock's grip. "I have to save her!" he cried.  
"Don't you think I know that?!" Brock shouted, shaking Ash by the shoulders. "But what good will it do us?! We have no idea where they're going! The least we can do is call the police!"  
  
******  
  
Misty groggily opened her eyes. Her body ached, her head pounded, and she had no idea where she was or what day it was. She'd been locked in the back of Team Rocket's van, gagged and blindfolded, so she had absolutely no idea about anything. She only wished that Ash could have been there with her. He always knew how to get out of these predicaments. It one of the few things that endeared him to her. She loved how he always had a plan, even if they never always worked. And Brock..well, he didn't really have much value in situations like these, but she wanted him there, too. Or Tracey. She always felt better after talking to Tracey about anything. He was just the kind of guy that listened and didn't judge. Quiet, kept his opinions to himself, that kind of thing.  
"I wonder where Ash is," she said quietly to herself. "I wonder if he's even trying to look for me..."  
"Hey, Jess, James, da twerp's girlfriend's awake!"  
There was a burst of light - the van door opening, she guessed. Then she heard Jessie's more than evil voice. "Well, well, nice to see you awake, twerp," she said. "I thought you might have dropped dead on us."  
James laughed. "I think she will when she finds out that her boyfriend hasn't shown up around here since we took her."  
"You're lying!" Misty said, having perfected the task of talking around her gag.  
"Nope," Meowth said. "We even gave out hints an' told him where he could find ya, and he never even tried to look for youse! Must have gotten tired of all your bickering. Always on his back 'bout one t'ing or anudda...I know dat I'd be glad ta get rid of youse if youse was my friend."  
Misty kept a strong face, but inside, she knew that they were right. Ash was always telling her that if she was ever kidnapped, he would just leave her there. He'd been kidding, of course, but she couldn't help wondering if he would really do that. No more bickering about the bike, about their incredibly different training views, about anything.   
Meowth sensed her sadness. "Yeah, dat's right. I can just hear him now. Probably braggin' to dat older twerp dat youse gone for good."  
"Well, have a nice sleep!" Jessie said sarcastically.   
Misty heard the van door slam. She finally let out the tears that she had been holding in. "Please say it's not true, Ash...please come find me...I don't want to fight anymore..." Then, a horrifying thought came to her. "Maybe we never should have stayed together..."  
  
******  
  
Ash walked into the police station, immediately catching the attention of the Greenfield Officer Jenny. She stepped over to him. "I'm sorry, Ash, but we haven't come across anything," she said.  
Ash stared at his feet. "Are you sure?" Not the smartest question to ask a police officer, but Ash was distraught.  
"Yes, I am," Jenny said, her tone holding no bitterness. "I think you should go back to the Pokémon Center, Ash. There's nothing you can do here."   
Ash shook his head. "I can't!" he cried. "If I do, I just think of her and what horrible things could be happening to her at this exact moment! I wonder if there's even anything that I can do! I think of what may happen to her and what I'm supposed to do without her!"  
"Ash..."  
Ash sighed heavily. "All right," he said dejectedly.  
When he got back to the Pokémon Center, he was surprised to see Tracey there. "Trace...why are you here?" he asked, his bewilderment temporarily overcoming his fear and sadness.  
Tracey sighed. "Professor Oak told me about what happened to Misty. And it's all over the news. I'm sorry about this, Ash, but they'll find her. I mean, we're talking about Team Rocket here. How long can they hide from the police?"  
Ash shook his head and wandered away.  
It wasn't until that night that he spoke to Tracey again. They were in their bunks, trying to sleep, but Togepi's occasional wailing kept all of them on edge.  
Tracey looked over at Ash, who had his face to the wall. He was curled up in a ball, and Tracey could tell that the boy was crying. "Hey, Ash, you okay?" he whispered.  
Ash said nothing.  
"Ash, I know you're scared for her, but...maybe if you talked about it, it might help."  
"Nothing will help," Ash said miserably. "I let them take her...I didn't try to stop them...she probably thinks that I'll just leave her there...she's probably so scared right now...and I'm not there to tell her that it'll be okay...I'm here. And I need her to be here as much as she probably needs me...."  
Tracey bit his lip, reminding himself that breaking down himself wouldn't help Ash at all.  
"Maybe we never should have met...maybe I should have just paid her back and we'd all be happy..."  
  
******  
  
Miles away, Professor Spencer Hale and his assistant, Skylar, were studying the Unown once again in their underground chamber. Skylar was taking pictures of anything that resembled an Unown. Professor Hale was doing his best to decrypt the heiroglyphs on the wall.  
Suddenly, Skylar spotted a hole opening in the wall. "Professor..." he said warily.  
Professor Hale turned to see the Unown spiraling in the air. They seemed to be sticking to a pattern, like giant words floating in the air. He noticed one particular pattern that seemed to spell out "Forget The Friendships".  
"What is this?" Skylar asked.   
Professor Hale was knocked to the ground as the Unown flew off into the darkened sky. "I don't know, Skylar, but...whoever they're after is about to lose a big part of their lives..."  
  
END OF PART ONE  
  



	2. The Mind Forgets, The Heart Remembers

To Know The Unknown  
Part 2  
  
  
Author: Chikorita_18  
Category: General/AAML  
Rating: 'G' - 'PG' (I'm just not sure...)  
Previously: A sense of despair has taken over Ash and Misty when Misty is kidnapped by Team Rocket and Ash is forced to wait for the police to find her. Meanwhile, Misty is trapped by Team Rocket and losing faith in her friendship with Ash. They both soon find themselves wishing that they had never met the other. The Unown, using their world-altering abilities, have transported both to a world where neither friend exists in the same place and can't remember their former lives at all....  
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A shrill alarm awoke Ash from his dreams of Pokémon Master glory. He groggily opened his eyes, stretching his legs carefully for fear of smacking Pikachu. The little yellow Pokémon was curled at his feet, as usual. But the room was empty for save the Pokémon. Ash sat up. Where was...where was...  
"Pikachu, is someone missing?" he asked. His own mind had gone blank.  
Pikachu shook it's head and "Pika"ed something to the effect of "No, Ash, it's just you and me. Been that way since we started."  
Ash frowned. "I could have sworn that there was someone else with us..."  
Pikachu gave it's master a look that clearly said "I think you ate something last night that didn't like you."  
Ash sighed. He knew that there was someone missing, but he had no idea who or why he thought that way. He dug through his backpack and searched through the little green book that his mother had made him take as a journal. He flipped to the last page, hoping that it would tell him who this person was that he was thinking of, or at least, what he ate that would make him think that way.  
The words on the page suddenly faded away, like they had never existed. Ash dropped the journal, freaked out beyond belief. "There was something there...there had to be..."  
Pikachu peered at the open journal and then at Ash. It shook its head, launching into a fury of "Pika"s that Ash eventually translated into "Ash, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you know that it's just been you and me since the day we met. You came to Professor Oak's lab before all of the other trainers and you said that you weren't sure what Pokémon that you wanted, so Professor Oak showed you all three and then I came out of my PokéBall and you said that you thought I was cute and that you wanted to take me. We got attacked by some Spearow and we ended up in a river and..."  
Ash wanted to continue the rest of the story, like he knew how it ended, but he couldn't. He just couldn't remember.  
"And then we fought our way out of the river and camped out for the night to dry off..." Pikachu continued in it's Pika-language  
"No one helped us out?" Ash said.  
"Not a single person was near the river that day, Ash, 'cause they said that there were Gyarados in the river. We got out and we went to the Pokémon Center the nest day so we could make sure that we never broke anything in that jump down the waterfall...that was two years ago, and now we're traveling to Goldenrod City so that you can get your next Badge."  
Ash crawled out of bed, the thought of someone else gone from his mind. "Well, then, maybe we should get going already!" he said, pulling on his red-and-white Pokémon League hat and slinging his backpack over his shoulders. "That next Gym Leader is just waiting for me to beat them!"  
  
******  
  
"Misty, please?" Daisy begged her little sister. "You just have to do it! We're at a total loss! With Lily sick, we can't put on the show."  
Misty slumped back in her seat, arms folded. "I don't care," she pouted. "I'm a Gym Leader, not a ballerina. You guys do the shows, I do the Gym work. You know that."  
"Misty, come on!" Violet pleaded. "This will be, like, totally the end of our careers if you don't do this show for us!"  
"Get someone else to do it!" Misty snapped. "I've got enough on my plate without you and your stupid shows, okay?!"  
"Wow, you got, like, a major problem today, Misty."  
Misty looked daggers at her eldest sister. "Well, how would you feel working your butts off to get this Gym off the ground and then have three airhead sisters that don't even know what work is?!"  
"We're the Gym Leaders, too, Misty."  
Misty jumped to her feet. "Then have the stupid Gym!" she cried, her blood at the boiling point. "What do I care?! I never even get any respect for anything I do around here! It's all about you three, and it's always been that way! Just because I'm not totally obsessed with myself like you are doesn't mean that I shouldn't get some respect for the work I do on this Gym! Who's the one that beat the last four challengers in a row here?!"  
"We could have done it," Daisy said, "But we just didn't feel like battling."  
Misty stomped a foot. "You see?! My Poliwhirl is getting to the point where it's about to go off the deep end if I don't give it a break!" She stormed towards the door. "I'll show you all! I'll become a respected Pokémon trainer and then you won't have a choice but to respect me!" She slammed the door behind her and ran up the stairs to pack her things.  
Her Togepi sat on the bed, awakened from it's daily nap by the commotion downstairs. It looked at it's 'mommy' with a confused gaze. "What's wrong?" it chirped in it's Toge-language.  
"I've had it," Misty said, using all of her willpower not to slam her fist through the Cerulean City Gym logo painted on her wall. "I work and work and work and they just screw around and they expect me to drop everything and do their bidding? Well, Togepi, you and I are on our own now. I'm not taking this. Help me pack up, would you?"  
Togepi blinked. It's mommy had been really cranky lately. And sometimes, when she was sleeping, it heard her whispering someone's name. When it asked her about it, she said that she must have been dreaming about a movie or something, because the only boys (yeah, it was a boy's name, but Togepi was never really clear on what it was. Some name that began with an 'A', perhaps) that she knew were the ones that her sisters brought home.  
Misty stuffed her primary belongings into her pack and picked Togepi up. With one last look around, she stormed out of the Gym. She took one last look back, remembering why she was running, and walked away. She didn't look back again.  
  
******  
  
Ash walked out of the Gym dejectedly. "Who could have thought that a big pink cow could be so strong?" he said to Pikachu. "We really blew that one."  
"Well," Pikachu said in it's Pika-language, "There's a kid that wants a Drowzee and he'll trade a Machop for it. Maybe we should look around in the grass near that Daycare center. I think there might be Drowzee there...I think I even saw one."  
"Hey, that's not a bad idea, Pikachu," Ash said. "Fighting-types are really strong against Normal-types. That stupid cow wouldn't have a chance against a Machop, even a low-level one."  
"Yep," Pikachu agreed. Then, just to be funny, it added, "where would you be without me?"  
Ash made a face. "Well, the electricity count in my body would be a heckuva lot lower..."  
"Don't make me raise it," Pikachu laughed.  
Ash laughed. "So, let's go get us a Drowzee."  
"Ash?" Pikachu said.  
"Yeah?"   
"What was wrong with you this morning? Why did you keep saying that there was someone missing? You were really scaring me. I thought that you were going mad."  
Ash sighed. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Pikachu," he said. "I don't know what came over me... I was just dreaming, I suppose, and the alarm woke me up early and I just wasn't paying attention to reality. I'm okay now that I'm awake."  
"Okay. Just don't do that again, please."  
Ash smiled at the little Pokémon. "I promise I won't. Thanks for worrying about me. You're a real pal, you know that, Pikachu?"  
"Hey, kid," a voice grabbed Ash's attention. "You wanna battle my Snubbull?"  
Ash, never one to refuse a good challenge, looked back at Pikachu. "You better believe I do!"  
The kid, a young boy wearing shorts and a T-shirt, grinned. "Great!" he said. "We're coming off of a winning streak! We've won fifteen battles in a row and we have two badges!"  
Ash smiled. "Is that all?" he said tauntingly. He opened up his vest. "I have fourteen!"   
The kid's eyes grew wide at the sight of Ash's Indigo, Orange, and Johto League badges. "Wow," he said. "You must be a really great trainer!"  
"Well, I don't want you to think that I'm bragging." A strangely female voice rang in his mind. "Yeah, even though you are," it said.  
"Well, that still don't scare me! Bring it on!"  
Ash shook his head to clear the voice from it, but the voice refused to go away. "You ain't the king of the Pokémon World, Ash, stop acting like it! You got those badges out of luck!" his conscience scolded.  
"Hey, kid, c'mon!" the boy called.  
Ash shook his head again. "I'm sorry...I have to go...I...just have to go..." He turned on his heels and ran back for Goldnerod City.  
  
******  
  
Misty cast her fishing line into the water and sat down on a large rock. She sighed heavily. "It's been two weeks and I suck...I never thought that being a real Pokémon trainer would be so hard..."  
In the last two weeks, Misty had lost all but two battles that she had been in. "It's not my fault," she said to Togepi. "I'm from the Cerulean Gym. I only train Water-type Pokémon. And almost everyone I've battled has a Grass- or Electric-type Pokémon." She concentrated on her line. Her vision suddenly blurred and she couldn't help but let a few stray tears roll down her face. "It's that dream I keep having..." she said. "I keep having this dream...there's this boy in it...but I have no idea who he is...why I keep dreaming about him, I don't know..." She looked at Togepi. "Do you think that this dream could be telling me that this boy is like...my soulmate or something?"  
Togepi shrugged. It always got confused when it's mommy went philisophical.  
"And if he is," Misty continued, completely oblivious of the bewildered expression that the egg was giving her, "Why am I always so mean to him in the dream? And how do I find him?"  
Togepi pointed to the line.   
Misty turned her attention to her line. "He has to be real...the dream's too real for him to be purely made of my imagination. But I don't even recognize his name...he won't tell me his name in the dream...he just says that he's sorry and he never meant what he said..." She shook her head. "That's it, Togepi," she said. "I have to find him!"  
  
END OF PART 2  
  
A/N: So now Misty knows that she has to find Ash, even though she can't remember him at all. I'm just warming up here! Be a good reader and review! I need to know that I don't suck!  
  
  



	3. Together Again

To Know The Unknown   
Part 3  
  
Author: Chikorita_18  
Category: General/AAML  
Rating: G  
Previously: Ash and Misty are both having visions of each other, but neither can remember who or why. Misty, convinced that the boy she is dreaming of is her soulmate, she sets off on a quest to find him. Meanwhile, Ash is being taunted by the same kind of dreams and visions that Misty has been, but he's trying to ignore them. Pikachu and Togepi still think that their masters have gone insane.  
A/N: Oh, yeah, and any words between asterisks (*) means that the character is thinking.  
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Togepi rested semi-comfortably in its master's arms, but couldn't help but notice that Misty's hands were shaking. They'd been like that for a long time now, ever since she'd started having 'The Dream', as she called it now. *Mommy's sure been acting strange lately,* Togepi thought. *I think she really believes in this dream...*  
Misty sighed and sat down on a park bench. Her dreams had been telling her that the boy she was searching for was somewhere in Johto, so she and Togepi had been trekking to Vermillion City, so they could take the S.S. Aqua to a place she'd never heard of called Olivine City. But so far, the trek wasn't going as well as she thought. The entire route so far had been full of Pokémon and Pokémon trainers who wanted nothing but a good battle and to see a former Gym Leader fall. Of course, Misty's quick wit and even quicker mouth served well in getting her out of real jams, and Togepi's newly learned Metronome was enough to scare the fur or whatever off of any Pokémon that wandered into their path. But it was still hard and she was still having that dream.  
"I can't even see what this guy looks like in the dream..." she said plaintively. "All I see is the colours on what he's wearing...like...red, blue, white, black...." She was trying to stay calm, because trainers sometimes took advantage of an emotional wreck, but she was failing miserably. "Am I just crazy, Togepi? Is this just another one of my senseless crusades that never leads anywhere? Like that one I went on when Daisy purposefully smashed my bike so I wouldn't go down to the Viridian River?"  
Togepi looked up at its master. "You're not crazy, mommy," it said in Toge-language. "I think that you should go and find this guy if you think he's real."  
"That's what I'm doing," Misty said, "But where's this gonna lead? Am I going to find him or am I just going to be miserable for the rest of my life?"  
"It's what you make it," Togepi said with it's knack of sounding years older than it actually was.   
Misty stood up and reslung her backpack over her shoulder. "You're right," she said. "Let's keep going. I want to get into town so I can change out of these stupid clothes that Violet gave me."  
  
******  
  
Ash leaned over the desk in his room at the Pokémon Center, trying desperately to concentrate on the trainer's manual in front of him. His Drowzee-catching expedition had been a total bust, and it had cost him three fainted Pokémon. Chikorita, Noctowl, and Totodile were less than pleased with their master, since Ash had been a complete spacecase in battle. *I couldn't help it,* he thought miserably. *It's these visions I keep having...there's this one girl in all of them...it's like I knew her once but I can't remember her now...maybe she was, like, my girlfriend in a former life or something.*   
Pikachu, who was snacking on some Pokémon food, looked up at Ash. "You know," it said in Poké-language, "you really should try to ignore these 'visions', as you call them. They've already put you on Noctowl's black list, and I'm willing to bet that Chikorita and Totodile aren't your best buddies right now."  
Ash shook his head. "It's easy to say, but hard to do."  
"Ash, you might as well face it. You just dreamed up this girl and made yourself believe that she actually exists just to think that you had some other thing to do than lose to Whitney again."  
Ash frowned. "You think I just dreamed this up because Whitney's stupid pink cow beat me? Pikachu, you know I was thinking about this before I even met Whitney."  
The TV caught both of their attentions when a newscaster's voice blasted out of the speaker. "And in Pokémon League news, Cerulean City has been shaken by their Gym Leader's sudden decision to leave the Gym and strike out on her own Pokémon journey."  
Ash got up to turn it off, but a picture on the screen grabbed his attention.   
"The remaining Cerulean sisters refused to comment on Misty's sudden departure, but say that the operation of the Gym will not be affected."  
Pikachu noticed the expression on Ash's face. "Ash, what's wrong?"  
Ash stared hard at the screen. "That girl...I...feel like I know her...like I've seen her before..."  
Pikachu shook its head. "No, you haven't. You battled the older one for the Cascade Badge, remember?"  
Ash kneeled in front of the screen. "Come to think of it, Pikachu, I don't remember anything before my Gym battle with Whitney." He flicked the screen off as the TV returned to it's normal programming, which consisted of soap operas until at least five o'clock.  
"Maybe that cow gave you amnesia?" Pikachu suggested.  
Ash sighed. "It wasn't a Psychic-type, Pikachu," he said. He suddenly felt like crying, which he didn't hold back on doing. Ash didn't like to be seen crying, since he was always putting across a 'tough' image, but around Pikachu and his other Pokémon, he didn't care. He sat down on the floor and buried his head in his hands. He wasn't exactly sure why he was crying, but he knew that some of it had to do with these visions. They were leading nowhere and now three of his best Pokémon were angry with him because of it. He was saddened, frustrated, and felt like the whole Pokémon League was against him. "What's wrong with me, Pikachu?!" he wailed. "Why is this happening? Why can't I remember anything?!"  
Pikachu curled up in Ash's lap, something that always comforted its master. "It's not your fault," it said. "Maybe you're right about this, maybe not, but it'll all work out."  
  
******  
  
Misty came out of the washroom, dressed in denim shorts and a yellow tank top, her outfit of choice. Her sisters had always been a little disapproving of the outfit, since the shirt didn't exactly cover her midriff, but she always felt a lot more comfortable in her own clothing. Her orangey hair was pulled up in a ponytail that rested to the left side of her head.   
Togepi looked up at Misty. "Feel better?" it asked.  
Misty let out a sigh. "Physically, maybe," she said.  
"You're still thinking of this dream?"  
Misty shrugged. "How can I not think about it, Togepi? I've had the exact same dream for days now! Don't you remember what happened the last time I had one of those dreams that just kept coming back?"  
Togepi nodded. "You dreamed that your mom would get into an accident and that she'd die," it said sadly.  
Misty nodded. "And, like, a week after I started having that dream, it happened! I could have saved my mom's life if someone had just believed me!"  
"So what does that have to do with this dream?"  
Misty rolled her eyes, her usual response when she wasn't sure of something. "I don't know," she said. "I'm just saying that this means something, no matter what anyone says."  
"So, what's this boy's name, anyway? I hear you say his name sometimes."  
Misty picked the little Pokémon up and walked out into the lobby of the Pokémon Center. "He tells me sometimes, but by the time morning comes, I've forgotten..."  
"Do you remember when you wake up in the middle of the night?"  
"Sometimes...but just for a second."  
"Put a pen and paper beside your bed. Then you can write it down when you wake up."  
Misty smiled. "Not a bad idea. Sometimes I think you just pretend to be a baby Pokémon."  
"I could evolve if I wanted to," Togepi said, staring at its feet, "but I don't want to."  
Misty patted Togepi on the head. "I love ya just the way you are. Take your time then."  
  
******  
  
In the dream, Ash found himself in a dark forest. Pikachu had been taken from him and he was alone, with the exception of the creepy feeling crawling its way up his spine. A Noctowl suddenly grazed the air just above his head. He let out a yelp and took off running. "Pikachu, where are you, buddy?!" he called. "Please just let me know where you are!" There was no reply. Ash kept on running until his legs were jello and they refused to carry him any further. "Pikachu..." he said sadly. "I've lost you...I can't find you..."  
"Well, if you just plan on giving up, then I guess it is," a female voice scolded.   
Ash looked up to see a girl a little taller than he was, with hair that matched the shade of orange you sometimes see mixed in with a fire. "You...it's you...the girl that I've been seeing...who are you? Where can I find you?"  
The girl slowly shook her head. "I can't tell you because I'm lost myself...maybe someday we'll meet for real..."  
Ash got to his feet again as she began to fade away. "No, wait...you have to tell me who you are....please!" He bolted awake in his bed.   
Pikachu looked up at Ash worriedly. "Ash, are you okay?"  
Ash shook his head. "I saw her...she was there...she was in my dream...I saw her..." He turned on the light. He was breathing like he had really run the distance in his dream and he was bathed in a cold sweat. "Pikachu, I know I saw her..." He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and rushed to the washroom, just in case.  
Pikachu followed him. "Ash, you need to calm down. Look at what this is doing to you!"  
Ash had to literally crawl to the sink to wash his face. "All the more reason to follow through..." he said in a hoarse voice. "I won't rest until I meet her..."  
Pikachu sighed heavily. This didn't seem to be even close to ending, and it knew that Ash's Pokémon weren't as understanding as Pikachu was. Things were getting complicated...  
  
******  
  
Misty bolted awake and grabbed for the paper at her bedside. She quickly scribbled down something and then shook the egg-like Pokémon at her side. "Togepi, I know his name now!" she cried.  
Togepi yawned. "Whose name?" it said sleepily.  
"The boy in my dream! I know his name!"  
"So? What is it?"  
Misty tried to stop her hands from shaking so she could read the paper. "I had the exact same dream...and he told me that his name was Ash..." The name struck a chord with her, but she still wasn't sure why. "So much for the theory of remembering him as soon as I learned his name..." She sighed. "And without his last name, this isn't worth squat."  
"But it's a start," Togepi encouraged. The name had struck a chord with it, too.  
Before Misty could say anything else, the P.A system buzzed. "S.S. Aqua has docked in Olivine City. All passengers please disembark immediately."   
Misty tried to ignore her frazzled nerves. She felt so nervous, not only because of who she was looking for, but because she was in a whole new place. She picked up her bags and followed the crowd out to the harbour. "This is going to be number one on my new and weird experience list. Traveling all the way to Johto to find a kid that's only in my dreams with no idea about him other than his first name that I'm not even sure IS his first name."  
Togepi sighed. "Maybe someone here will give us a hint..."  
No sooner had Togepi said that then the TV flashed with the daily Pokémon League news. A young woman that Misty saw on TV all the time appeared on the screen. "With the Johto League competition just months away, Johto's attention is beginning to focus on the trainers that, for the first time in about five years, have traveled here from Kanto. Leading the pack this year are a pair of rivals from Pallet Town, Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum."  
Togepi pointed to the screen. "That kid's name is Ash," it reasoned, pointing to the picture.  
Misty's heart skipped a few dozen beats. "Togepi, that's him!" she cried. "It's him...it's really him!"  
Togepi blinked at the screen as memories began to flood back. "That's...I know him..."  
Misty stared at the screen. "Now tell us where he is..."  
"League officials have informed us that Oak has reached the Fog Gym in Ecruteak City, while Ketchum is slightly behind at the Plain Gym in Goldenrod City."  
Misty took off running. "We have to get to Goldenrod, Togepi!"  
  
******  
  
  
Ash stormed out of the Goldenrod Gym, his hat pulled low over his eyes and his fists clenched as if to warn everyone away. This time, he hadn't lost to Whitney, but to one of her junior trainers. Not to mention the fact that he had been physically ill from the dream for the last two days. Nurse Joy, who didn't specialize in people but knew a sick kid when she saw one, had ordered him to stay in bed and had only let him go outside that day. She had also recommended that he see a people-doctor, a piece of advice he had ignored so far. "If I go to the hospital, they'll lock me up in the psych ward," he said now to Pikachu.  
"Ash, I think Joy's right," Pikachu said. "You are really sick, buddy."  
Ash shook his head. "Maybe I just caught the 24-hour flu or something. I'll be fine. Now let's get you and Noctowl to the Pokémon Center before Noctowl pecks my eyes out."  
  
******  
  
Misty jumped out of the back of the truck that she and Togepi had hitched a ride in and thanked the driver. She looked around. "Well, there's a Pokémon Center down the street," she said. Her eyes fell on the one person in the street, a boy walking with a Pikachu. She frowned. "That looks like..."  
"The kid we saw on TV back in Olivine?"  
Misty tried to focus. The boy was just a bit shorter than she was, and he was wearing jeans, a blue-and-white short-sleeved vest, and a red-and-white cap. She practically dropped Togepi. "Togepi, it's him!"  
"Then what are you just standing here for?!"  
"What if he doesn't remember me?" she said worriedly.   
Togepi looked up at her. "Do you remember what my Metronome did to that Mareep back on the ship? I'll do that to you if you don't go over there!"  
Misty took a deep breath and jogged a few steps. "Ash!" she called out.  
  
******  
  
Ash froze when he heard the voice. So did Pikachu. The both of them slowly turned around. Before he knew anything more, she was in front of him. This time, he didn't even have to think to know her name. "Misty?" he said.  
Misty's eyes were tearing up as she rested a hand on his cheek. "It's you...It's really you..." she said as she felt hundreds of memories flooding back. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.  
Ash returned the hug, his memory returning, too. "I missed you..." he said. "But what happened? Why did we forget each other?"  
Misty shook her head as she pulled away. "Some things are just meant to be. The point is, we're back together now."  
Ash bit his lip, not sure if he should say what he wanted to. "Misty...I'm sorry...for not coming to find you... Brock made me let the police handle it..."  
Misty raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you listen to Brock?" she said, her old self returning.  
"Since I was too scared for you to do anything in my right mind," he replied. "I knew that it was just Team Rocket...and I thought that you could get out...but I was still scared..."  
Misty shook her head. "They're probably wondering where I am right now. They thought they had me good there..." She laughed as she imagined Team Rocket's expressions when they opened the van to find her gone.  
Ash smiled. "I'm just glad you're back...that we're back..."   
Misty nodded and leaned forward, intending to kiss him on the cheek.   
But before she could, the ground began to rumble. Huge spikes made of either ice or crystal began to shoot out of the asphalt. And from the bowels of the earth came the one sound that neither of them had ever wanted to hear again: Pokémon voices singing a melodious but deadly tune, "Un-own....un-own...un-own..."  
  
END OF PART 3  
  
A/N: So, Ash and Misty have gotten their memories back, but the Unown are PO'ed about it. And where's Brock? Stay tuned for the next (and final!) installment of "To Know The Unknown"!  
  



	4. Believe, Anything Is Possible

To Know The Unknown   
Part 4  
  
  
Author: Chikorita_18  
Category: Gen./AAML  
Rating: G  
Previously: After being tortured with dreams and visions of each other, Ash and Misty are finally back together. Their memories have returned, but the Unown aren't finished with them yet...  
Author's Note: I have been getting beef about this fic for a while, so I'm going to clear it up here. The Unown only erased their memories, not their experiences. So, for example, Ash still won Togepi for Misty back in the ep "Who gets To Keep Togepi", but the memory isn't there. It's like what happened to Ash's mom in the 3rd movie. She was still Ash's mom, but she could not remember that she was until she saw Ash on TV. The same thing goes here.   
And some are giving me beef about the Pokémon. I just call them 'it', okay?  
And as to Brock and Tracey, they're coming back in this installment. So, let's get on with this.  
*****************************************************************************************  
Ash was barely aware of Misty clinging to his arm as he watched the Unown spiral into the air. He had never wanted to see them again, and now that they were there, he had a feeling that they weren't after his mom again.  
"Ash, what are we supposed to do?" Misty said, sounding remarkably unlike herself.  
Ash noticed that the air around them was shimmering in an odd way. "They're going to try to trap us!"  
Sure enough, the crystalline material that was coming from the Unown began to swirl up around them.  
Misty looked around. "Ash, we gotta do something, or they'll trap us here and who knows what'll happen then!" She set about stuffing Togepi into her backpack.  
Ash knew that Misty was right. There was hardly a time when she wasn't right. But he just couldn't think. It was like the Unown still had some grip on his mind. They wanted to trap them, and they weren't taking any chances that they may escape. "I can't...I can't think..."  
Misty watched in horror as the crystal reached about six feet above their heads and began to seal up. She held onto Ash's arm tightly, not knowing what to do, but also wanting to make sure that the Unown didn't take him away again. "This is it...what do we do now?"  
Ash was about to reply when the top of the crystal structure shattered into a million pieces. They looked up in time to see none other than their old buddy, Brock, standing on his Onix's back. "Well, you two, get outta there!" he called.  
Ash and Misty managed to shimmy out just before the crystal sealed up again. "You have absolutely no idea how glad we are to see you, man!" Ash said. "What happened to ya?"  
Brock shook his head. "I dunno," he said, a bewildered look on his face. "I was back home, at the Pewter Gym, and then, just out of the blue, I remembered that I was supposed to be travelling with you two. It was, like, surreal or something..."  
"You haven't a clue, Brock," Misty said.  
The Unown were revising their patterns, determined to trap all three now. Ash, always the one to stand up first, stepped in front of his friends. "What do you want with us?!" he demanded. "Why are you attacking us?"  
Brock frowned. "They seemed to lose power when I showed up..." he said. "Maybe they're trying to prevent all of us from reuniting...maybe when the whole group reunites, they'll go away."  
"But this is all of us, isn't it?" Misty said.  
Ash shook his head. "We're missing one," he said. "We're missing Tracey."   
Brock nodded. "We have to find him..."  
Misty turned to him, a pleading expression on her face. "But he could be anywhere!" she said. "If his memory was erased, too, then that means that he might have been sent back to the Orange Islands, and that means that there's no telling where he is, and even if he does remember, does he know to come here?"  
Brock was obviously stumped by the questions.   
Just as all of them were losing hope, a voice that all of them wanted to hear for once came from behind them. "You know, I don't like people talking about me behind my back."  
Ash turned and came face-to-face with Tracey. "Oh, man, I'll tell you...we'll do anything you want from now on!"  
"So, what's going on?" Tracey said, watching the Unown warily. He'd been helping Professor Oak with the research that Professor Hale had asked him to look over, and he knew what the Unown could do.  
"We haven't a clue," Ash and Misty muttered at the same time.  
Brock pointed to what seemed to be the ringleaders of the Unown. "Look, they're weakening!" he cried. "I was right! The key was to have the whole group reunite!"  
A sphere began to glow in the center of the swirling Unown. The sphere contracted, sending out a huge shockwave that blew all four to the ground.   
Ash tried to get up. "You were saying?" he coughed.  
Misty crawled to her feet, clutching a bruised arm. "Something has to stop this!" she cried.  
Tracey was obviously thinking hard. "Well, how did you defeat them the first time?" he asked.  
Ash turned to look at him. "We didn't!" he said. "Molly and Entei beat them!"  
"Well, they can read thoughts...maybe..." He was at a loss.  
Brock watched their patterns closely. "If we try to escape, they'll trap us. If we don't, they'll trap us. Man, we're just at a total blank right now..."  
"It'd be so much easier if Molly and Entei were here..." Ash muttered, only half kidding.   
Misty looked around, noticing that whenever they wanted someone to show up, they usually did. But the street was empty, everyone having ran for their lives as soon as the Unown had showed up.  
The crystalline material began to swirl up around them once again. "Run!" Tracey cried.  
All four broke into a dead sprint until Misty tripped and crashed to the ground. The Unown immediately began to swirl around her.  
Ash spun on his heel and ran back for her, but the crystal wall went up too fast. He crashed into it, falling back to the ground. He sprung back up to his feet and pounded almost helplessly on the wall. He could just barely see her through the crystal. She was pounding on it, too, and obviously calling for him to help her.  
Brock grabbed his arm. "Ash, there's nothing we can do!"  
Ash fought against his grasp until Tracey pulled Brock away. "Do you mean to tell me that you're just going to leave a friend behind?!" he said. "Use your Onix to break her out of there!"  
Ash noticed that Misty was beginning to lose consciousness. "Guys, they're trying to suffocate her!" he cried helplessly. "We have to get her out of there, we just have to! I've come too far to let them take her away again! I just can't lose her again!"  
Tracey released his Scyther, since Brock seemed like he wasn't going to do a thing. "Scyther, use your Skull Bash to try and get Misty out of there!"   
Scyther complied, but the crystal was too strong for it.   
Ash was paniking.  
Tracey looked around and saw that the Unown seemed to be gaining power. He thought about that for a moment, then it came to him. "Ash, calm down!" he said.  
Ash looked at him as if he was nuts. "How can I?! She's gonna die in there!"  
Tracey shook his head. "That's the key! We think that we'll never defeat these things, and that's where their power is coming from!" he said. "We need to believe that we can beat them! They know that you and Misty are close, so they trapped her to make you panic and think that they were winning...we need to believe that we can beat the Unown and we will!"  
Ash turned back to see if Misty understood. She was fighting to stay awake, but she gave a thumbs-up to show that she had heard.  
All four (six if you count Pikachu and Togepi) let out a deep breath and focused on a vision of the Unown scattering, flying away.  
The Unown froze.  
'It's working,' Ash thought. 'We can do this, we can defeat them...all we need to do is believe in ourselves... and we'll have it...'  
The Unown were fighting against the sudden power coming from the friends, but losing. Finally, they gave up. Hundreds of the Unown flew off into the night sky.  
The crystal encasing Misty faded away and she collapsed, ironically, into Ash's arms, breathing like she's just run a marathon. "I thought I was dead..." she said. She looked up at Tracey. "Are we ever glad that you showed up now."  
Tracey looked like he didn't quite understand what he had said.  
Ash hauled Misty back to her feet. "Why didn't we think of that, Misty?" he said. "That was exactly how Entei beat the Unown...it was because Molly believed that it could!"  
Misty nodded, but then turned to Brock, fire in her eyes. "Do you maybe want to explain why you were just going to leave me in there to die?!" she growled.  
Brock backed away a step or two. "I wasn't...I just thought..."  
Ash shook his head. "Let's just dicuss it after a nice rest...and a couple burgers..." He turned back to Misty. "Now, wasn't there something you wanted to do?"  
Misty smiled and nodded. She leaned forward. "Let's just hope the Unown don't show up this time," she said just before planting a kiss on Ash's cheek.  
  
  
How the universe began  
What the future holds  
Why do fools fall in love  
What happens to our souls?  
Clues to life's mysteries  
Are what we hope to find  
Always reaching for a eason  
Searchin' for a sign  
  
To know the unknown  
It doesn't mean that much to me  
To know the unknown  
Some secrets are just meant to be  
Don't want all the answers  
'Cause one thing is true  
As long as my heart beats  
I'll always love you  
So I don't need to know the unknown  
  
Is there lie on other planets  
Why there's magic in a kiss  
What dreams really mean  
Who hears us when we wish  
Everybody's wondering   
Trying to understand  
But all the revelations  
Are like castles in the sand  
  
To know the unknown  
It doesn't mean that much to me  
To know the unknown  
Some secrets are just meant to be  
Don't want all the answers  
'Cause one thing is true  
As long the earth turns  
I'll always love you  
So I don't need to know the unknown  
  
You don't need to tell me  
Just why you went away  
Now that you've come back   
There's nothing more to say  
All I really need to know   
Is that you're here to stay...  
  
To know the unknown  
It doesn't mean that much to me  
To know the unknown  
Some secrets are just meant to be  
Don't want all the answers  
'Cause one thing is true  
As long as my heart beats  
I'll always love you  
So I don't need to know the unknown  
  
To know the unknown  
It doesn't mean that much to me  
To know the unknown  
Some secrets are just meant to be  
Don't want all the answers  
'Cause one thing is true  
As long the earth turns  
I'll always love you...  
  
So I don't need to know the unknown  
  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: That's it, it's done!!! Done, done, done!!! Oh, and please, only GOOD reviews, okay?  
  
  
  



End file.
